Coin dispensing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A coin dispensing apparatus has a single motor for causing coins to be dispensed selectively from either one or two stores. Rotation of the motor shaft in the first direction is transmitted via a one-way clutch to cause movement of a dispensing arm associated with the first store, and rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction is transmitted via a second one-way shaft to cause movement of the dispensing arm associated with the second store. If a jam is detected, the direction of rotation of the motor shaft is repeatedly reversed to clear the jam, the amount of reverse movement of the shaft being less than the lost motion in the associated one-way clutches so that the other motor dispensing arm is not substantially moved.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to coin dispensing apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of devices are known for dispensing coins, for example inchange giving apparatus. Coins are commonly stored in tubes within eachof which coins of a respective denomination are stacked face-to-face.The coins are usually dispensed by sliding the bottommost coin laterallyout of the stack. One proposed arrangement incorporates a motor having ashaft which, when rotated in a first direction, drives a one-way clutchto operate a dispensing arm which strips the bottommost coin from afirst stack, and which when rotated in the opposite direction drives afurther dispensing arm via a second one-way clutch so that thebottommost coin of a second stack is dispensed.

Most, if not all, coin dispensers of all types suffer at least to someextent from occasional jamming problems when a coin is bent or deformedor becomes lodged in the wrong position and prevents correct dispensing.It would be desirable to provide an arrangement in which such problemsare at least mitigated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided coin dispensingapparatus comprising:

at least first and second coin stores each for storing a plurality ofcoins;

first and second dispensing members associated respectively with saidfirst and second coin stores, each dispensing member being operable toexecute a dispensing movement to dispense a coin from the respectivestore;

a dispensing actuator for driving the dispensing members, the actuatorcomprising a motor which can drive a shaft in either of first and secondopposite directions and transmission means coupling the shaft to thedispensing members in such a way that rotation of the shaft in the firstdirection causes the first dispensing member to execute a dispensingmovement and rotation of the shaft in the second direction causes thesecond dispensing member to execute a dispensing movement; and

control means for controlling the operation of the dispensing actuator;

wherein the control means is operable, when a coin is to be dispensedfrom the first store, to cause the motor to drive the shaft in the firstdirection, then briefly in the second direction and then again in thefirst direction, so as to tend to clear a jam which may be preventingcorrect dispensing from said first store, the rotation of the shaft inthe second direction being insufficient to cause substantial movement ofthe second dispensing member.

The brief reversal of rotation of the shaft, followed by there-commencement of the forward rotation (which is preferably carried outa plurality of times) causes the first dispensing member to be moved ina type of "hammer action" which would tend to clear any jam preventingdispensing. The control means can be arranged to apply similar movementto the dispensing member of the second store.

The transmission between the shaft and the second dispensing memberpreferably includes a lost-motion coupling, and the reversed motion ofthe shaft is preferably such that it does not exceed the lost motionprovided by this coupling so that no movement of the second dispensingmember occurs during this reversed rotation. This lost-motion couplingis preferably a one-way clutch which causes the second dispensing memberto be driven only when the shaft is rotated in the second direction.There may be an additional degree of lost motion at other places in thetransmission, the arrangement being such that the movement caused by thereversed rotation of the shaft is less than the sum of the total lostmotion in the transmission.

Also, or alternatively, the transmission means may be arranged such thatthe degree of movement of the second dispensing member for a givenamount of rotation of the shaft varies during the dispensing cycle, thereverse rotation of the shaft occurring when the dispensing member ispositioned such that it moves only by a very small amount in response toshaft rotation.

These arrangements ensure that the hammer action applied to the firstdispensing member does not have any adverse effects on the dispensingmechanism for the second coin store.

Preferably, the motor is a DC motor. Preferably, the above-mentionedshaft is the motor shaft, and preferably this shaft is rotated inopposite directions by reversing the polarity of the voltage supplied tothe motor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An arrangement embodying the invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a coin handling apparatus including a coindispensing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view for explaining how coins aredispensed from the coin stores of the dispensing apparatus;

FIG. 3 shows a dispensing member;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the motors and transmissions of thedispensing apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of part of the transmission associatedwith the dispensing arrangement of one of the stores of the dispensingapparatus;

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a one-way clutch of this dispensingarrangement; and

FIG. 8 is a voltage waveform diagram illustrating the voltage supply toa motor of the dispensing apparatus when a jam has been detected.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, the coin handling apparatus 2 includes a coinvalidator 4 for receiving coins as indicated at 6. During the passage ofthe coins 6 along a path 8 in the validator 4, the validator providessignals indicating whether the coins are acceptable, and if so thedenomination of the coins.

Acceptable coins then enter a coin separator 10, which has a number ofgates (not shown) controlled by the circuitry of the apparatus forselectively diverting the coins from a main path 12 into any of a numberof further paths 14, 16, 18 and 20, or allowing the coins to proceedalong the path 12 to a path 22 leading to a cashbox 24. If the coins areunacceptable, instead of entering the separator 10 they are led straightto a reject slot via a path 26.

Each of the paths 14, 16, 18 and 20 leads to a respective one of fourcoin tubes or containers 28, 30, 32, and 34. Each of these containers isarranged to store a vertical stack of coins of a particulardenomination. Although only four containers are shown, any number may beprovided.

A dispenser indicated schematically at 36 is operable to dispense coinsfrom the containers when change is to be given by the apparatus. Thedispenser 36 comprises a control means 38 which is arranged to drive twomotors, 40 and 42. As will be explained below, rotation of the shaft ofthe motor 40 in one direction causes a coin to be dispensed fromcontainer 28, and in the other direction causes a coin to be dispensedfrom the container 30. Similarly, rotation of the shaft of the motor 42in one direction causes a coin to be dispensed from the container 32,and in the other direction causes a coin to be dispensed from thecontainer 34. The control means 38 can thus individually dispense coinsfrom any selected container. The control means responds to signals fromfour sensors 44, each associated with the respective one of thecontainers.

Referring to FIG. 2, this illustrates how a coin is dispensed, and forpurposes of clarity shows the lower end of only one of the containers,30. The containers are mounted in a housing 46. The containers are openat the bottom so that the stack of coins rests on the bottom surface 48of the housing 46. This bottom surface 48 is formed with a slot 50underneath each container.

A dispensing arm or member 52, shown more clearly in FIG. 3, extendsunderneath the bottom surface 48 of the housing 46, and has acoin-pushing extension 54 which projects upwardly from one end of themember 52 and which projects through the slot 50. As will be describedbelow, the arm 52 can be moved substantially in the direction of itslength, which will cause the projection 54 to move along the slot 50from the rear of the container 30, engaging the edge of the lowermostcoin in the container, so that this coin is pushed out of the containerthrough a space 56 between the lower front edge 58 of the container 30and the housing bottom surface 48. The coin will thus be allowed to fallfrom the dispensing apparatus in the direction of arrow A. Thedispensing arm 52 has a guiding extension 60 projecting downwardly fromthe end of the member 52 and locating in a recess 62 provided in a basemember 63 located beneath the housing 46 so as more accurately to guidethe movement of the member 52.

The end of the dispensing arm 52 opposite the extension 54 is pivotablymounted to a crank arm 64, which is mounted on a shaft 66 for rotationabout an axis 68. A single rotation of the shaft 66 will move the crankarm 64 from the position shown in FIG. 2, wherein the dispensing arm 52is in its home position, in such a way that the dispensing arm is pulledforwardly along the length of the slot 50, and then pushed backwardlyalong the slot to the home position. This constitutes a singledispensing cycle.

Referring now additionally to FIGS. 4 to 7, the motor 40 has a shaft 70on which is mounted a worm 72. This drivingly engages the splines 74 ofa shaft 76 mounted for rotation about a substantially vertical axis. Theshaft 76 has gear teeth 78 around its lower periphery which mesh withthe teeth 80 of a clutch wheel 82. The clutch wheel 82 is mounted on theshaft 66.

The inner periphery of the clutch wheel 82 is formed of cam surfaces 84and drive surfaces 86 which engage the ends of a pin 88 which is freelyslidable within a substantially horizontally extending bore 90 throughthe shaft 66. FIG. 6 shows the pin 88 extending outwardly of the shaft66 by the maximum amount, and FIG. 7 shows the pin 88 with its endsprojecting by the minimum amount. Assuming that the gear wheel 82rotates clockwise as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the ends of the pin 88 willrepeatedly engage the cam surfaces 84 which will cause the pin 88 to berepeatedly pushed backwards and forwards through the bore 90. Therefore,no rotation of the shaft 66 will occur. However, anti-clockwise rotationof the clutch wheel 82 will cause one end of the pin to be engaged by adrive surface 86. The drive surface 86 extends substantially radiallywith respect to the axis of rotation, so there will be no reactionforces between the pin and the drive surface 86 which would tend to movethe pin longitudinally. Accordingly, continued rotation of the clutchwheel 88 will transmit a driving force to the pin 88 and thus rotate theshaft 66.

It will be noted that the inner periphery of the clutch wheel 82 asshown in FIGS. 6 and 7 consists of three lobes, each forming a camsurface 84 and a drive surface 86, so that taking into account that bothends of the pin 88 are engageable with the inner periphery, it will beunderstood that the maximum amount of anti-clockwise rotation of theclutch wheel 82 which may occur before a drive surface 86 drivinglyengages the pin 88 is 60°.

In order to dispense a coin from the container 30 shown in FIG. 2, theDC motor 40 is supplied with a drive voltage of a first polarity, whichcauses its output shaft 70 to rotate in a first direction, resulting inthe clutch wheel 82 moving anti-clockwise. This will cause the shaft 66and thus the crank 64 to rotate and thus reciprocate the extension 54along the slot 50 and dispense a coin.

The shaft 76 is also coupled to a further clutch wheel 90 via an idlinggear 92. This clutch wheel 90 is coupled to a different dispensing arm(not shown) for dispensing coins from the container 28. The arrangementis similar to that described above. Because of the presence of theidling gear 92, the clutch wheels 90 and 82 will rotate in oppositedirections. Accordingly, when the motor 40 is driven such that itsoutput shaft 70 rotates in the second, opposite direction, the clutchwheel 90 rotates anti-clockwise and causes its associated dispensingmember to dispense a coin from the container 28. However, this willresult in a clockwise rotation of the clutch wheel 82, so that the shaft66 is not rotated and the dispensing arm 52 is not substantially moved.Coins can thus be selectively dispensed from either of the containers 28or 30 by selecting the direction of rotation of the motor shaft 70 (andthe shaft 76).

The motor 42 is coupled to a similar transmission system shown generallyat 94 for selectively dispensing coins from the containers 32 and 34.

Each crank arm 64 has embedded therein or attached thereto a magnet 96(FIG. 5) which is arranged to operate a respective reed switch 98constituting one of the sensors 44 mentioned above. This occurs when thecrank arm 64 is in the home position shown in FIG. 2.

The operation of the control means 38 is as follows. Assuming that acoin is to be dispensed from the container 28, a supply voltage, of e.g.positive polarity, is applied to the motor 40 so that the clutch wheel90 is rotated anti-clockwise. This supply voltage is maintained untilthe associated sensor 44 indicates that the crank arm has returned toits home position, thus signifying that a coin has been dispensed.Referring to FIG. 8, if no such home signal is provided within apredetermined period T1, of e.g. half a second, the polarity of thesupply voltage is reversed for a period of, for example, 60milliseconds. A positive supply voltage is then applied for a similarperiod, followed by further brief applications of negative, positive andthen negative supply voltages for similar periods. There will thus bethree intervals, indicated at 100 in FIG. 8, during which the clutchwheel 90 is rotated clockwise and therefore the dispensing memberassociated with the container 28 ceases to be driven, following each ofwhich periods the drive is reapplied. This application of the driveforce in a pulse manner creates a hammer action producing vibrationwhich tends to free a coin jam which may prevent the dispensing memberfrom completing its action. The positive supply voltage is thenreapplied for a further period of, for example, half a second, or untilthe home position signal is obtained from the sensor 44 as a result ofthe jam being cleared and the dispensing member completing its action.(If no such home position signal is obtained, the control means 38 canbe arranged if desired to store an indication that there is a problemwith dispensing from the container 28.)

During each of the intervals 100, the clutch wheel 82 will be drivenanti-clockwise, and thus in the direction which would tend to operatethe associated dispensing member 52. However, the duration of eachinterval 100 is equal to or less than the time taken for the clutchwheel 82 to rotate by 60°, which is the degree of lost motion in theclutch wheel as mentioned above. It is possible that in the firstinterval 100 the pin 88 may be located close to one of the drivesurfaces 86 and therefore some slight movement of the shaft 66 and thusthe dispensing arm 52 may occur, but because subsequent reverse-driveintervals are limited to the lost motion in the clutch, there will be noappreciable additional movement during those subsequent intervals.

It would be possible to have the forward-drive intervals between theintervals 100 slightly longer than the intervals 100 so as to ensurethat drive force was positively applied to cause the hammer action. Thiswould also result in a progressive movement of the dispensing member 52if such is permitted by the jam. In practice, however, it is found thatan acceptable hammer action occurs if the forward-drive interval is keptsubstantially equal to the reverse-drive interval 100. It has been foundthat the vibration caused by this action is adequate to free many jams,and that it would be rare for progressive forward movement during thehammer action to have any beneficial effects.

As mentioned above, there may be some slight movement of the crank arm64 associated with the container 30 from which coins are not to bedispensed. The crank arm 64 at this time will be in its home positionand, with reference to FIG. 2, it will be noted that the pivot axis 98by which the dispensing arm 58 is mounted to the crank arm 64 is locatedin proximity to a line joining the axis of the shaft 66 to the extension64. This means that angular movement of the crank arm 64 from its homeposition will cause relatively little movement of the extension 64, ascompared with the situation when the crank arm 64 has been rotated by,for example 90°, when slight additional movement will cause substantialmovement of the extension 54. Any slight movement which does occurtherefore at the home position will be of a negligible amount.

Although the invention has been described in the context of coin storesin the form of tubes in which coins are stacked face-to-face, otherforms of coin store may be used.

The sensors 44 in the above embodiment operate by detecting that thedispensing member 52 has not moved sufficiently, thus indicating thatthere is a jam. This detection operation can be performed by sensing themovement of the member 52 itself or an associated element (such as thecrank arm 64 as in the above embodiment). A jam could alternatively bedetected by a sensor which detects whether a coin has been dispensedfollowing operation of a motor. As a further alternative, the hammeraction can be performed on every dispensing cycle, thus avoiding theneed for a jam sensor.

We claim:
 1. Coin dispensing apparatus comprising:at least first andsecond coin stores each for storing a plurality of coins; first andsecond dispensing members associated respectively with said first andsecond coin stores, each dispensing member being operable to execute adispensing movement to dispense a coin from the respective store; adispensing actuator for driving the dispensing members, the actuatorcomprising a motor which can drive a shaft in either of first and secondopposite directions and transmission means coupling the shaft to thedispensing members in such a way that rotation of the shaft in the firstdirection causes the first dispensing member to execute a dispensingmovement and rotation of the shaft in the second direction causes thesecond dispensing member to execute a dispensing movement; and controlmeans for controlling the operation of the dispensing actuator; whereinthe control means is operable, when a coin is to be dispensed from thefirst store, to cause the motor to drive the shaft in the firstdirection, then briefly in the second direction and then again in thefirst direction, so as to tend to clear a jam which may be preventingcorrect dispensing from said first store, the rotation of the shaft inthe second direction being insufficient to cause substantial movement ofthe second dispensing member.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein the transmission means includes a lost-motion coupling betweenthe shaft and the second dispensing member so that the first part of thecoupling can be moved in response to rotation of the shaft in the seconddirection by a predetermined amount before a second part of the couplingconnected to the dispensing member is moved, said brief rotation of theshaft in the second direction being such that the first part of thecoupling is moved by an amount which does not exceed said predeterminedamount.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lost-motioncoupling is a clutch in which rotation of the shaft in the seconddirection causes the first part of the coupling to drive the secondpart, and which is arranged such that when the shaft is rotated in thefirst direction the second part is no longer driven by the first part.4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first part of the clutchcomprises a wheel driven by the shaft, and the second part comprises afurther shaft having a radially-moveable driving member extendingradially outwardly therefrom, the drive member being engageable with theinner periphery of the wheel, said inner periphery comprising at leastone cam surface arranged such that as the wheel is rotating in the firstdirection the cam surface causes radial movement of the drive member,and at least one drive surface arranged such that rotation of the shaftin the second direction causes the drive surface to drivingly engage thedrive member and thus rotate the further shaft.
 5. Apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein the control means is operable to cause the motor todrive the shaft in the second direction a plurality of times, the shaftbeing driven in the first direction between such times, when a coin isto be dispensed from the first store.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim5, wherein the periods for which the shaft is driven in the seconddirection are substantially equal to the intervening periods for whichthe shaft is driven in the first direction.
 7. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the brief rotating of the shaft in the second directionduring dispensing from the first store is performed in response todetection of a jam.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, furtherincluding means for detecting a jam by sensing that the transmissionmeans has failed to move the dispensing member by a predeterminedamount.
 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further including means fordetecting a jam by sensing that no coin has been dispensed from thestore.
 10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control means isoperable, when a coin is to be dispensed from the second store, to drivethe shaft in the second direction, then briefly in the first directionand then again in the second direction, so as to tend to clear a jamwhich may be preventing correct dispensing from said second store. 11.Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor is arranged to rotatethe shaft in the first direction when supplied with a drive voltage of afirst polarity, and in the second direction when supplied with a drivevoltage of a second, opposite polarity.
 12. Coin handling apparatuscomprising:coin dispensing apparatus comprising:(a) at least first andsecond coin stores each for storing a plurality of coins; (b) first andsecond dispensing members associated respectively with said first andsecond coin stores, each dispensing member being operable to execute adispensing movement to dispense a coin from the respective store; (c) adispensing actuator for driving the dispensing members, the actuatorcomprising a motor which can drive a shaft in either of first and secondopposite directions and transmission means coupling the shaft to thedispensing members in such a way that rotation of the shaft in the firstdirection causes the first dispensing member to execute a dispensingmovement and rotation of the shaft in the second direction causes thesecond dispensing member to execute a dispensing movement; and (d)control means for controlling the operation of the dispensing actuator;and a coin validator for receiving and testing coins and for selectivelydelivering coins which are deemed to be valid to the stores of coindispensing apparatus, wherein the control means is operable, when a coinis to be dispensed from the first store, to cause the motor to drive theshaft in the first direction, then briefly in the second direction andthen again in the first direction, so as to tend to clear a jam whichmay be preventing correct dispensing from said first store, the rotationof the shaft in the second direction being insufficient to causesubstantial movement of the second dispensing member.
 13. An apparatusas claimed in claim 12, wherein the transmission means includes alost-motion coupling between the shaft and the second dispensing memberso that the first part of the coupling can be moved in response torotation of the shaft in the second direction by a predetermined amountbefore a second part of the coupling connected to the dispensing memberis moved, said brief rotation of the shaft in the second direction beingsuch that the first part of the coupling is moved by an amount whichdoes not exceed said predetermined amount.
 14. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 13, wherein the lost-motion coupling is a clutch in which rotationof the shaft in the second direction causes the first part of thecoupling to drive the second part, and which is arranged such that whenthe shaft is rotated in the first direction the second part is no longerdriven by the first part.
 15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, whereinthe first part of the clutch comprises a wheel driven by the shaft, andthe second part comprises a further shaft having a radially-moveabledriving member extending radially outwardly therefrom, the drive memberbeing engageable with the inner periphery of the wheel, said innerperiphery comprising at least one cam surface arranged such that as thewheel is rotating in the first direction the cam surface causes radialmovement of the drive member, and at least one drive surface arrangedsuch that rotation of the shaft in the second direction causes the drivesurface to drivingly engage the drive member and thus rotate the furthershaft.
 16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the control meansis operable to cause the motor to drive the shaft in the seconddirection a plurality of times, the shaft being driven in the firstdirection between such times, when a coin is to be dispensed from thefirst store.
 17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the periodsfor which the shaft is driven in the second direction are substantiallyequal to the intervening periods for which the shaft is driven in thefirst direction.
 18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the briefrotating of the shaft in the second direction during dispensing from thefirst store is performed in response to detection of a jam. 19.Apparatus as claimed in claim 18, further including means for detectinga jam by sensing that the transmission means has failed to move thedispensing member by a predetermined amount.
 20. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 18, further including means for detecting a jam by sensing that nocoin has been dispensed from the store.
 21. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the control means is operable, when a coin is to bedispensed from the second store, to drive the shaft in the seconddirection, then briefly in the first direction and then again in thesecond direction, so as to tend to clear a jam which may be preventingcorrect dispensing from said second store.
 22. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the motor is arranged to rotate the shaft in the firstdirection when supplied with a drive voltage of a first polarity, and inthe second direction when supplied with a drive voltage of a second,opposite polarity.